The Environmental Protection Administration plans to restrict the use of two substances in cleaners and detergents because they have proven hazardous to animals and humans, an official said yesterday.
Nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPE or NPEO) are the two substances in question.
NPE, a derivative of NP, is nonionic surfactant widely used in laundry detergents, dishwashing detergents, toilet cleaners, car cleaners and glass cleaners. Mixed with water, NPE will break back down into NP -- which is insoluble in water, and therefore remain in soil, rivers and groundwater.
According to the environmental agency's 2003 report, NP was found in 66.7 percent of rivers in Taiwan. Although the figure fell to 19.5 percent of rivers in 2004, the official said NP and NPE still present urgent environmental hazards.
When NP and NPE -- known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals or environmental hormones -- are digested by fish or animals, the chemicals interfere with their hormonal systems and impede growth and reproductive development.
The official said NP's chemical structure is very similar to that of estrogen, adding that in some cases researchers found NP turns the sexual organs of males into that of "neutral" or "female" fish, and causes them to lose their reproductive ability.
NP and NPE also affect humans through the food chain, causing infertility, breast cancer and other hormone-related diseases.
The official said that in EU countries the use of NP and NPE has already been limited to no more than 0.1 percent of a product. However, NP and NPE are still widely used in Taiwan as they are much cheaper than other chemicals, he said.
The official said the environmental administration has already initiated policy discussions with relevant government agencies, adding that if a decision can be made in the near future, the use of NP and NPE will be restricted under the same criteria as the EU no later than the end of this year.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to